The Sidestream Treatment Journey, From Planning Through Design and How it Might Benefit Your WWTP

Presentation Description: Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) has been evaluating approaches to provide cost effective and robust ways to manage nitrogen at their Regional Water Reclamation Facilites (RWRFs). Their facilities are facing many challenges; increasing facility loads, maximizing existing infrastructure and providing Operations staff additional tools to meet effluent compliance. The comprehensive approach that will be presented includes process modelling, optimization, alterative evaluation and Capital Improvement Project (CIP) planning. Through this work, sidestream deammonification was identified as a cost-effective means to meet these objectives. EMWD is leading innovation for the California wastewater profession by implementing some of the first sidestream deammonification facilites in state and the first systems in southern California.

Whole plant calibrated models were developed for evaluating 1) optimization approaches to reduce effluent nitrogen with existing infrastructure and 2) new facilites and their benefit to meeting effluent nitrogen objectives. This stepwise approach ensured existing facilites were maximized before implementing new infrastructure.

A sidestream feasibility study was performed focusing on the feasibility of implementing sidestream deammonification, conceptual design, costs, and vendor considerations for the Temecula Valley Reclamation Water Facility (TVRWRF) and the Perris Valley Reclamation Water Facility (PVRWRF). This work determined that sidestream treatment would provide a significant cost savings and provide Operations 80% TIN removal in the sidestream and ~1.5 mg/L effluent total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) reduction from current conditions, increasing operational flexibility to meet the (TIN) limit.

CIP planning was then completed including evaluating the project phasing, schedule and refinement of costs. Through this work, it was demonstrated that sidestream deammonification could help EMWD extend out the next major expansions at TVRWRF and PVRWRF by more than 5 years each, balancing budget spending, reducing near term budget demands, and more efficient allocation of staff.

The project is currently in detailed design of the TVRWRF and PVRWRF sidestream deammonification facilites, leveraging Hazen’s extensive sidestream deammonification experience from around the country. The EMWD designs implement some of the latest best practices for sidestream facility design including struvite mitigation approaches instrumentation selection, vendor selection/procurement, operator safety and designing for ease of operations/maintenance while maintaining performance.